France Considering Legalising Online Gambling

The French government said Thursday it is considering legalizing online gambling. Prime Minister Francois Fillon's office said it is studying a report it commissioned last November into how the online gambling market might be opened up in France.

Currently, all internet-based games involving money are outlawed in France, except for the French lottery monopoly Francaise des Jeux and pari-mutuel (or pool betting) horse betting monopoly PMU, which offer online betting and scratchcards. Within the last year, some heads of foreign online gambling operators have been arrested in France for breach of French gambling laws.

The report identifies three possibilities for opening up the tightly regulated French market: issuing licenses limiting online betting to sporting events, including betting on card games, or licensing all games except lotteries.

The report doesn't seem to envision wide-open gaming in France. It said the legalization of online slot machines would run contrary to France's "objectives of common interest," including the protection of gamers against addiction and the prevention of fraud and money laundering.

The European Commission is looking to end state monopolies on gambling in several European countries, including France, in a bid to enforce the European Union's free internal market and antitrust rules.

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